Does it cost anything?

No. Ludodrop is free and there are no real-money purchases. In-game coins are earned by playing and can't be bought.

Do I need an account to play?

You can open a first booster without an account, from the home page. To keep those cards and keep playing, create an account: all it takes is an email address and a password. The cards from your free booster then join your collection.

Can I install Ludodrop on my phone?

Yes, Ludodrop installs like an app, without going through an app store: it gets an icon on your home screen and opens full screen. On a phone, every page has its own thumb-friendly version, with the tab bar at the bottom.

Open the menu and tap “Install the app”: the steps adapt to your browser. On iPhone, use Safari, the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.

What is the Membership Card?

A subscription paid in coins, in the shop, under accessories. While it's active, your free boosters refill faster, you can keep more of them in reserve, and a premium booster waits for you every week in My boosters (the first one right away).

It lasts a fixed number of days and never renews on its own. You can extend it before it ends, up to a limit of days ahead of you, and a notification warns you the day before. When it ends, refills go back to the usual pace, and your reserve to the usual cap.

Every new account gets a few trial days when signing up. Days can also be earned for free, at certain season tiers and with a weekly quest.

How is a card's rarity chosen?

There are five rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary and Mythic. They depend on the game's ranking by its BoardGameGeek rating, weighted by the number of voters: a classic rated by tens of thousands of players ranks above an obscure game. The great classics are therefore the rarest cards.

Is there a bad-luck protection?

Yes. If you open 40 boosters in a row without a Legendary or a Mythic, the last card of the 40th will be at least Legendary. Same for Mythics: by the 200th booster without one at the latest.

These guarantees don't make big cards more frequent on average: they only prevent streaks of bad luck. They count all your boosters, free ones as well as those bought in the shop.

What is a miracle pack?

About one pack in 200 contains only big cards: Epics or better, and a last card that's at least Legendary. Nothing announces it in advance, except the pack shaking for a long time when you open it.

It counts as a regular pack for your guarantees, and it never comes as an account's very first pack. Your friends see this stroke of luck in their activity feed.

What is a Full Art card?

A special version of a card, whose artwork covers the whole card. Every card drawn has a small chance of being Full Art. They earn more experience points (XP), more coins when recycled and more materials when taken apart.

What is a first edition?

The first copies of each card to come out of boosters are first editions, numbered in the order they were drawn (“1st edition no. 12”). Not every card is one: each has a small chance of being one, while some remain. The rarer the card, the fewer there are. Once they're all out, the card keeps coming out normally.

So that everyone gets a chance, they only come from free boosters, never from a bought booster. Each player can draw a limited number per week, and only one per card. Each card's stock also opens in waves, a new one every week: even if you arrive later, you'll still find some.

The mention stays after a sale or a trade. It can combine with a Full Art or a Gold, but gives no bonus in duels. These copies have their own price and are protected from automatic duplicate recycling and dismantling.

The latest no. 1 drawn by players scroll by on your home page: a way to see which cards are going.

And Gold cards?

The Gold edition is even rarer: a gold frame and shine, on any rarity. It's purely visual, but it's the version collectors fight over, and it has its own price at the market.

What is a misprint?

A real card botched at the printer, like the printing errors of collectible card games: shifted colors, off-center cut, missing ink, double strike… About one card in several tens of thousands comes out like this, and no two misprints are ever quite alike.

It's one of the most sought-after pieces: it counts in your collection like the others, and its flaw also gives it a small duel bonus, shown on the card's page.

Aren't two copies of the same card identical?

Not always. When a booster is opened, about one card in six gets a copy trait that changes its duel card: another family, another cost… and, more rarely, a real bonus. The trait is shown on the card's page.

Each copy can therefore suit a different deck, and copies with a trait have their own price.

What is an event booster?

A booster sold for a limited time in the shop, with its end date shown: themed, like Halloween and its own cards, or the Peddler's, a traveling merchant. Once the event is over, it's no longer for sale, but the ones you bought can still be opened.

Does the Peddler sell counterfeits?

Yes, and he doesn't hide it. His boosters cost less, but some of his packs are fake: the risk is shown in “Contents and odds” before you buy. Official boosters never contain any.

A fake pack only gives counterfeits: washed-out fake cards, given away by three details, a typo in the name, letters in place of some digits of the number and a frozen holo that doesn't follow the light. They don't count in your collection, your series or your progress, and they can't be played, sold or traded. His material cards are fake too: they don't join the workshop's stock.

Keep them in the Counterfeits tab of your binder, or recycle them for a few coins. A Peddler display is decided all at once: the whole box is real, or all of it is fake.

Nothing to do with a misprint, which is a real card botched at the printer, rare and sought after.

What can I do with my duplicates?

Three options: recycle them for coins, take them apart at the workshop to get materials, or put them up for sale at the market.

A card disappeared from boosters, why?

When a game's page is removed from the Compagnon, its card no longer comes out of boosters. If you already have it, it stays in your collection, and you can still sell it or buy it at the market.

How much does recycling my duplicates earn?

Each recycled card earns coins based on its rarity. Full Art cards get a multiplier. The amount is shown before you recycle in your binder, and the XP already earned stays yours.

What are my coins for?

You can buy boosters and the Membership Card in the shop, or bid on other players' cards at the market.

Every day the shop offers a booster as the deal of the day, at a reduced price, and displays (several boosters at once, cheaper per unit, limited in number per week).

What is my wishlist for?

Tap “I want it” on a card's page to add it to your wishlist. For each one, Ludodrop shows you the fastest way to get it: for sale at the market, or in a themed booster.

You're notified as soon as one of your wishes is put up for sale.

How does the workshop work?

The workshop holds your materials and your Ideas. You find them in boosters, where resource cards (cardboard, paper, wood, plastic, dice) can take the place of Common games, and by taking your duplicates apart. Whatever it looks like, every resource card fills the same materials stock.

These resources fund the mega card of the week, the grading of your cards and the card sleeves in the shop. Running short? Buy some with your coins, within the weekly limit.

Contributor mega card, community mega card: what's the difference?

Every week, the workshop offers a Project of the week: a mega card to fund with your resources and coins. It's revealed on Monday at 7 pm and its print run closes on Sunday at midnight (Paris time). There are two cards to win.

The contributor card is yours: you fund its whole recipe and get a numbered copy. Not finished by Sunday? Your progress carries over to next week's card. Its print run is limited and will never be reissued: once it closes, no more copies can come out, and a game only ever has one mega card. The very first copies are gold.

The community card rewards everyone: each of your deposits also counts toward the shared goal. If it's reached, every player who took part a minimum gets it, even without finishing their contributor card. It has no number: it's the souvenir of the week, not a limited edition.

What is grading?

From the workshop, send a card to the grader. A few hours later, it comes back scored from 1 to 10, sealed in its case, with a numbered certificate. Your first grading is free, the next ones are paid in coins and materials, depending on the card's rarity.

You start with one slot at the grader, more unlock with materials. In a hurry? Express shipping halves the wait, for a few more materials.

How does the grader score a card?

They look at four criteria: centering, corners, edges and surface, each scored from 1 to 10 in half points. The final grade is their average, never more than half a point above the weakest criterion: a single flaw pulls the whole card down.

The grader is demanding, like real ones: a 9 is rare, a 10 exceptional. Disappointed by a grade? A graded card can go back to the grader once, for Ideas on top of the price. The new grade never differs by more than half a point from the first.

Do my cards wear out?

Yes, a little, when they're used: in each duel played with them, in each trade or sale. Wear isn't visible, but it damages corners and edges, and lowers the grade the grader will give them.

To avoid it, put a card sleeve on it. Packs are sold in the shop, for coins. Then, in your binder, tap Protect and choose your cards, or tap Protect on a card's page. A sleeve covers a single copy, the one you play in duels. You can remove it for free from the card's page: it goes back to your stock for another card. The day you send it to the grader, they remove the sleeve, which also goes back to your stock. A graded card no longer wears out at all.

What can I do with a graded card?

Keep it, sell it or trade it. It goes in the “My graded cards” tab of your binder, and its certificate follows it from hand to hand: anyone can check it by its number.

It has its own price, that of graded cards of the same rarity and grade. However, it can no longer be recycled or taken apart: it stays in its case. The counter buys it back by its grade, and a great grade is worth far more than the raw card.

How is a card's price calculated?

The price is what a card usually sells for at the market. The last sale price and the price are based on sales completed at the market. Each version is compared separately: normal, Full Art, Gold, duel trait and, for mega cards, project and edition.

The price is the median of the last five sales of that version. It updates with each sale, and the number of sales used is shown. A single sale gives a first reference, not a guaranteed price. Ongoing, canceled or unsold auctions don't count.

A graded card is priced by its grade: the median of sales of graded cards of the same rarity and grade, across all games.

How does the market work?

Put a card up for auction with a starting price, a duration and, if you like, a buy-now price. Other players outbid each other, and at the end the card goes to the highest bidder. A small fee is taken on each sale.

To bid, enter the most you're willing to pay: we bid for you, just enough to stay in the lead. That ceiling stays secret. It's held from your balance until the auction ends, returned if someone outbids you, and you get the difference back if you win.

How do I build a deck?

A deck is the set of 15 cards from your collection that you take into a duel: at most two copies of the same game, two Legendaries and one Mythic at most. You can slip in one of your mega cards, and up to 3 events.

Each card takes its cost, attack and HP from the game's real data: the more demanding the game, the more it costs. Its copies with a trait and its misprints play their own way. You can keep up to 8 decks and switch between them.

Keywords, events, boards: what are they?

From Rare upward, each card has a keyword drawn from its game's mechanics: Guard, Assault, Support, Ambush, Lifesteal, Shield… There are 14 of them, stronger on Epics and even more so on Mythics.

Events are cards with an immediate effect, like “Pizza break” or “Flipped table”. Each game is also played on a randomly drawn board, which changes one rule for both players: Essen Festival, Game night, Dusty attic…

What is the Stake?

Every game is worth ×1 at the start. Each player can double once, during their turn, so ×4 at most. The double takes effect at the start of your next turn: your opponent has one turn to concede at the old stake.

Conceding loses the game immediately, but only the current stake: handy when the game is going badly.

How does the League work?

Ranked games earn your stake in League points: you gain it when you win, you lose it when you lose or concede. From your 3rd win in a row, each win earns one extra point.

Five tiers: Apprentice, Skilled, Expert, Master and Grandmaster, each in five steps of 10 points. A tier you reach can't be lost for the rest of the season, and reaching each tier for the first time is rewarded (coins, boosters). Each season lasts a quarter, and at the next one you start a few steps below your tier.

Who are the Ghosts?

The opponents in ranked games: a real player's deck, played by the bot at its expert level. So you face the community's decks, at any hour, without waiting for someone to be online.

Can I challenge my friends?

Yes, from the duels page or a friend's profile. Duels between friends are friendly: they don't count for the League. You can also practice against the bot, at three levels (easy, normal, expert) and in four play styles (balanced, aggressive, trickster, architect). A few wins against it are rewarded with coins every day.

During the game, emotes let you greet or congratulate your opponent. The other player's emotes can be muted from the duel menu.

What are the series to complete?

Sets of cards to complete: the games of the same designer, artist or publisher, a product line, a theme… Your progress shows on each series and on the pages of the cards involved.

A completed series is rewarded once, in coins and XP, to collect on the series page.

How do I rank up?

Each card in your collection gives you experience points (XP): Common 1, Rare 3, Epic 8, Legendary 20 and Mythic 50. A Full Art card earns triple. XP raises your rank, and XP from recycled cards stays yours. The “My progress” page shows your rank, your next goals and the achievements you've earned.

What is the season?

One season per quarter, with its 100-tier pass. The cards you get and the quests you complete during the season move the pass forward, on top of your rank, which is permanent.

Each tier has its reward (coins, materials, boosters, a few days of Membership Card), up to the grand prize of the 100th: a Gold Mythic card in Full Art.

How do I trade cards?

Choose a player, the cards you give and the ones you want in return, then send your offer. A trade is card for card, without coins: to sell, use the market.

Your cards remain usable while you wait: on acceptance, everything is checked again at once, and the trade only goes through if each side still has the promised cards.

Who is the Swapper?

A computer, not a player: it runs a counter on the trades page for when nobody is available. Every day, it offers you three cards you don't have, from Common to Epic, and it answers right away.

You give several duplicates of the same rarity for one card, one swap per day. You always keep one copy of each game, and the duplicates you give leave the game. Trading with a real player is still better, card for card.

Your wishes, from Common to Epic, come first, then the cards that bring you closer to a series. A new wish can show up at the counter as early as the next day. Once a day, you can also pay a few coins to see other offers.

I forgot my password.

On the sign-in page, click “Forgot your password?” and enter your account's email address: you'll get a link, valid for one hour, to choose a new one.

Was your account created with Le Compagnon? It doesn't have a Ludodrop password: sign in with the Compagnon. No email received? Check your spam folder, then write to us.

How do I change my username, email or password?

Everything is done from your profile. Your current password is required to change your email or password.

How do I delete my account?

From your profile, in the “Delete my account” section. Your account and your whole collection are then permanently erased.